Urban Heritage Conservation and Rapid Urbanization: Insights from Surat, India

Currently, heritage is challenged in the Indian city of Surat due to diverse pressures, including rapid urbanization, increasing housing demand, and socio-cultural and climate changes. Where rapid demographic growth of urban areas is happening, heritage is disappearing at an alarming rate. Despite some efforts from the local government, urban cultural heritage is being neglected and historic buildings keep being replaced by ordinary concrete buildings at a worryingly rapid pace. Discussions of challenges and issues of Surat’s urban area is supported by a qualitative dataset, including in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups with local policy makers, planners, and heritage experts, triangulated by observation and a photo-survey of two historic areas. Findings from this study reveal a myriad of challenges such as: inadequacy of urban conservation management policies and processes focused on heritage, absence of skills, training, and resources amongst decision makers and persistent conflict and competition between heritage conservation needs and developers’ interests. Furthermore, the values and significance of Surat’s tangible and intangible heritage is not fully recognized by its citizens and heritage stakeholders. A crucial opportunity exists for Surat to maximize the potential of heritage and reinforce urban identity for its present and future generations. Surat’s context is representative of general trends and conservation challenges and therefore recommendations developed in this study hold the potential to offer interesting insights to the wider planners and conservationists’ international community. This paper recommends thoughtful integration of sustainable heritage urban conservation into local urban development frameworks and the establishment of approaches that recognize the plurality of heritage values.

Download Full-text

Towards eco-social housing in Vietnam: challenges and opportunities

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201819301001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 193 ◽

pp. 01001

Author(s):

Van Thuong Le ◽

Tuan Tran ◽

Truc Truong

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Social Housing ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Housing Demand ◽

Living Conditions ◽

Local Economy ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Long Run ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

The Government

Since Doi Moi (Reform) policy in 1986, Vietnam has experienced rapid urbanization and economic growth. Urbanization has resulted in increasingly high housing demand in the urban areas but this has largely unmet, especially housing for low-income people. Development of social housing for low-income and under-privileged people in cities has been seen as an urgent and important task of the government to pursue stable social and economic development. Low-income people are most vulnerable to environmental impacts and in need of energy-efficient houses to reduce their cost of living. Eco-social housing is seen as a solution to protect the natural environment as well as to boost local economy, improve living conditions particularly for low income people. Through preliminary assessments of three social buildings at three distinct regions of Vietnam, this paper found that despite many challenges, eco-social housing is a solution to Vietnam's needs in providing houses with adequate living conditions to low-income people while protecting the environment and achieving sustainable eco-social development in the long run.

Download Full-text

Current Trends in Urban Heritage Conservation: Medieval Historic Arab City Centers

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su14020607 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 607

Author(s):

Ahmed Mohamed Shehata

Keyword(s):

Traffic Congestion ◽

Heritage Conservation ◽

Urban Centers ◽

Urban Conservation ◽

Urban Heritage ◽

Job Opportunities ◽

Quality Aspects ◽

Historic Areas ◽

Urban Issues ◽

The Impact

Traditional conservation efforts did not improve the conditions in most historic urban centers of Arab cities. The internationally adopted shift in historic urban conservation grants better urban vitality and sustainability for these areas. This study investigates the existing trends and forthcoming changes in urban conservation and their implication on historical centers. Urban Heritage Conservation UHC trends were reviewed, conservation parameters were defined, and quality aspects of successful historic urban conservation were identified, and an assessment framework was developed to evaluate the resulting conserved urban heritage. Two case studies of Arab cities, Jeddah and Aman, were analyzed. The findings highlight the most common urban issues such as reusing historic buildings, traffic congestion, and lack of funds. The impact of urban management on historic areas’ quality was revealed. Moreover, the paper ends with recommendations for conservation authorities. These include engaging residents in the conservation efforts, adopting more innovative traffic solutions to ease congestions, turning the historic area into a pedestrian-friendly space, attracting visitors through arranging cultural events, creating new job opportunities through heritage, and improving the image of the areas through urban regulations. The paper’s findings would contribute to the knowledge related to Urban Heritage Conservation (UHC), and its recommendations would help practitioners and decision-makers.

Download Full-text

Understanding the concept of urban village in Hanoi city, Vietnam: Social - Spatial - Economic interactions with surrounding urban areas

Journal of Science and Technology in Civil Engineering (STCE) - NUCE ◽

10.31814/stce.nuce2021-15(1)-12 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 132-149

Author(s):

Ta Quynh Hoa ◽

Phan Tien Hau

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Economic Transformation ◽

Rural Settlements ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Urban Village ◽

Models Of Development ◽

Development Context ◽

The Impact ◽

Urban Villages

In cities throughout Asian countries, there is an increasingly ubiquitous presence of “urban villages” that reflects the transformation of traditional farming villages into urban places under the impact of rapid urbanization. Hanoi - one of the two biggest cities in Vietnam - has been witnessing the fast changes of rural settlements into urban built environments during the in-situ urbanization process since the 1990s. It is very important to have a comprehensive understanding of the urban village model in the urban development context of Hanoi city. Therefore, the major aims of this research are to examine the characters of the urban villages formed by the urban sprawl in peri-urban areas, to explore the interactions among urban villages and surrounding new urban areas in terms of socio-economic and spatial aspects, and to detect the gaps, if any, between the two models of development. Yen Xa urban village in Tan Trieu commune was chosen as a case study. Structured and semi-structured interviews with villagers and local authority’s representatives were conducted in the research. The first findings from research are expected to propose recommendations that will help bridge the gaps between the two urban settlement models in terms of legal, physical and psychological aspects towards sustainable development. Keywords: urban village; urbanization; socio-economic transformation; peri-urban; Hanoi city.

Download Full-text

Urbanization and Changes in Cropping Patterns at Kathmandu Valley

Nepal Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.3126/njst.v7i0.581 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 113 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Raj Man Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Cropping System ◽

Considerable Change ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Leafy Vegetables ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Average Growth ◽

Cropping Patterns ◽

Agriculture Land

The increase of population in Kathmandu valley is bringing a considerable change in cropping system. Rapid urbanization and introduction of new agriculture technology have encouraged the valley’s farmers to change their cropping patterns from traditional (low value crops) to new crops (high value crops). According to numerous studies made in Nepal, the change is seen considerably in winter crops than in summer crops and the land under cultivation of green leafy vegetables is increasing rapidly in the urban and semi-urban areas. An average growth of population at 3 % in the valley during the period 1951-2001 has resulted in the rapid expansion of area under urban coverage (24.6 % growth per year from 1984 - 2000) has made agriculture land of Katmandu valley to decline per year by 2.04 % (836.27 ha per year). If this trend of decline in agriculture land in Kathmandu valley continues in future too, it is expected that there will be no agriculture land left over by two and half decades in the valley. The planners should take note of this fact that if fertile land of Katmandu valley is to be preserved for agriculture necessary planning is urgently needed. <i>Nepal Journal of Science and Technology</i> Vol. 7, 2006

Download Full-text

Smart Cities in Turkey: Approaches, Advances and Applications with Greater Consideration for Future Urban Transport Development

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12122308 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 2308 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Can Bıyık

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Planning Process ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Radical Change ◽

Urban Transport ◽

Transport Systems ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Comprehensive Survey ◽

Future Vision

The smart city transport concept is viewed as a future vision aiming to undertake investigations on the urban planning process and to construct policy-pathways for achieving future targets. Therefore, this paper sets out three visions for the year 2035 which bring about a radical change in the level of green transport systems (often called walking, cycling, and public transport) in Turkish urban areas. A participatory visioning technique was structured according to a three-stage technique: (i) Extensive online comprehensive survey, in which potential transport measures were researched for their relevance in promoting smart transport systems in future Turkish urban areas; (ii) semi-structured interviews, where transport strategy suggestions were developed in the context of the possible imaginary urban areas and their associated contextual description of the imaginary urban areas for each vision; (iii) participatory workshops, where an innovative method was developed to explore various creative future choices and alternatives. Overall, this paper indicates that the content of the future smart transport visions was reasonable, but such visions need a considerable degree of consensus and radical approaches for tackling them. The findings offer invaluable insights to researchers inquiring about the smart transport field, and policy-makers considering applying those into practice in their local urban areas.

Download Full-text

An intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses: a mixed methods study of acceptability and feasibility

BMC Nursing ◽

10.1186/s12912-020-00524-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Judy Brook ◽

Leanne M. Aitken ◽

Julie-Ann MacLaren ◽

Debra Salmon

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Academic Staff ◽

Skills Training ◽

Early Career ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Healthcare Organisation ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Over Time

Abstract Aims To understand the experiences of nursing students and academic staff of an intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses, in order to identify acceptability and feasibility in a single centre. Background Internationally, retention of nurses is a persistent challenge but there is a dearth of knowledge about the perspectives of stakeholders regarding the acceptability and feasibility of interventions to resolve the issue. This study reports an intervention comprising of mindfulness, psychological skills training and cognitive realignment to prepare participants for early careers as nurses. Methods This is an explanatory sequential mixed methods study, conducted by a UK university and healthcare organisation. Participants were final year pre-registration nursing students (n = 74) and academics (n = 7) involved in the implementation of the intervention. Pre and post measures of acceptability were taken using a questionnaire adapted from the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used to assess change in acceptability over time. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes were thematically analysed, adhering to COREQ guidelines. Data were collected February to December 2019. Results One hundred and five questionnaires, 12 interviews with students and 2 focus groups engaging 7 academic staff were completed. The intervention was perceived as generally acceptable with significant positive increases in acceptability scores over time. Student nurses perceived the intervention equipped them with skills and experience that offered enduring personal benefit. Challenges related to the practice environment and academic assessment pressures. Reported benefits align with known protective factors against burnout and leaving the profession. Conclusion Planning is needed to embed the intervention into curricula and maximise relationships with placement partners. Evaluating acceptability and feasibility offers new knowledge about the value of the intervention for increasing retention and decreasing burnout for early career nurses. Wider implementation is both feasible and recommended by participants.

Download Full-text

Where Do I Allocate My Urban Allotment Gardens? Development of a Site Selection Tool for Three Cities in Benin

Land ◽

10.3390/land10030318 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 318

Author(s):

B. G. J. S. Sonneveld ◽

M. D. Houessou ◽

G. J. M. van den Boom ◽

A. Aoudji

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Low Income ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Poor ◽

Site Suitability ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Middle Income ◽

Support Tool ◽

Allotment Gardens

In the context of rapid urbanization, poorer residents in cities across low- and middle-income countries increasingly experience food and nutrition deficiencies. The United Nations has highlighted urban agriculture (UA) as a viable solution to food insecurity, by empowering the urban poor to produce their own fresh foods and make some profit from surplus production. Despite its potential role in reducing poverty and food insecurity, there appears to be little political will to support urban agriculture. This is seen in unclear political mandates that are sustained by information gaps on selection criteria for UA sites. The research reported here addresses this issue in the form of a decision-making support tool that assesses the suitability of cadastral units and informal plots for allotment gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. The tool was developed and tested for three rapidly expanding cities in Benin, a low-income country in West Africa, based on an ordered logit model that relates a set of 300 expert assessments on site suitability to georeferenced information on biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Soil, land use, groundwater depth, vicinity to market and women’s safety were significant factors in the assessment. Scaled up across all cadastral units and informal sites, the tool generated detailed baseline maps on site suitability and availability of areas. Its capacity to support policymakers in selecting appropriate sites comes to the fore by reporting changes in site suitability under scenarios of improved soil fertility and enhanced safety for women.

Download Full-text

Investigating Corruption in the Afghan Police Force

10.1332/policypress/9781447354666.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Danny Singh

Keyword(s):

Police Officers ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Police Force ◽

Public Confidence ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Police Corruption ◽

State Legitimacy ◽

Post Conflict ◽

Political Economic

This book provides a unique study on the lower ranks of the Afghan police force due to the lack of empirical evidence of what attributes to the causes, practices and consequences of corruption in this institution. The book is divided into a number of sections. It commences with an understanding of how corruption, and narrowly police corruption, impact on the police force, state legitimacy and the strategies in place to mitigate such problems as part of broader security and post-conflict reconstruction initiatives. The theoretical framework comprises political, economic and cultural drivers of police corruption by drawing on semi-structured interviews with elites and a survey and structured interview conducted with street-level police officers. The findings infer that weak oversight and low pay are causes of police corruption which intensify bribery and roadside extortion. The lack of professionalism, partly due to short and unclear training, and patronage are deemed as meanings of police corruption. In terms of motivation, there is no sense of pride in Afghan policing to fulfil a clear mandate. Moreover, non-meritocratic recruitment is prevalent which exacerbates local influences, loyalties and job buying in either high-drug cultivating or urban areas. To curb patronage, police officers are rotated to distant provinces but economic hardship is further increased when catering for large families with fewer breadwinners. The book concludes that the problems with police corruption and failure to combat it results in low public confidence and state illegitimacy which can support violent opposition groups to create further instability in war-torn societies.

Download Full-text

Reviving the consumption of insects in Japan: a promising case of hebo (Vespula spp., wasps) by high school club activities

Journal of Insects as Food and Feed ◽

10.3920/jiff2019.0005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 45-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K. Nonaka ◽

H. Yanagihara

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Resource Use ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Local Development ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

New Development ◽

School Research ◽

Recent Initiative

For people who hunt and eat hebo (Vespula spp., wasps) it is more about culture than it is about food production or environmental sustainability in mountainous central Japan. Individuals who currently semi-cultivate hebo do not intend to industrialize hebo semi-cultivation. Semi-cultivation of hebo is a seasonal activity and it is a hobby for them. This paper focuses on the declining number of wasp hunters. The number declined because younger generations did not take up the hobby or moved to urban areas in search of jobs. Hebo hunters thus consisted of seniors only. The number further declined as those who reached old age were no longer able to practice hebo hunting. Very recently, initiated a promising new development at Ena Agricultural High School. The support to the Hebo Club initiative was quickly expanded and now covers the members belonging to the Japan Vespula Association, and academics involved in edible insect research. We present an overview of the efforts of hebo hunters to maintain and promote the use of Vespula spp. as food and we describe the Hebo Club, a promising recent initiative spearheaded by the students of Ena Agricultural High School. The information was collected between fiscal 2015 and 2017 (namely from September 2015 to March 2018) by participant observation and semi-structured interviews with hebo hunters collaborating with the Hebo Club activities. The Hebo Club uses a hands-on approach: students gain knowledge on edible wasps and their semi-cultivation by actively engaging in the semi-cultivation of the wasps. The club thus teaches the students about resource use by engaging in resource use. The students are taught by experienced wasp hunters how to find, collect, house, and raise hebo. The Hebo Club’s colonies are housed in a shed in the school research forest. By cooperating with the members belonging to various Hebo Associations of south-eastern Gifu and northern Aichi, the students experience the variation in employed techniques and equipment, and make observations of hebo biology and ecology in different environments. Other than the hebo season, the club practice develops their idea for local development and applying it to tourism according to the evaluation of their activities. The successful beginning of the Hebo Club, a well-organized cultural initiative spearheaded by youngsters who are backed by seniors, is indicative of how people caring about hebo culture in central mountainous Japan maintains and preserves its culture and identity.

Download Full-text

Exploring Just Sustainability in Re-Blocking Intervention in a Johannesburg Informal Settlement

Journal of Asian and African Studies ◽

10.1177/0021909617725771 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 53 (5) ◽

pp. 782-796 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Olumuyiwa Bayode Adegun

Keyword(s):

Environmental Justice ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Environmental Problems ◽

Urban Housing ◽

Material Distribution ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Institutional Structures ◽

Just Sustainability

Addressing intertwined socio-economic and environmental problems in informal urban areas underscores the need for just sustainability. The co-production of urban housing provides a useful domain to link issues related to sustainability with social and environmental justice. Using the example of an informal settlement re-blocking project, this paper shows how co-production as an approach might or might not promote principles ingrained in just sustainability. The study relied on data collected through semi-structured interviews with residents and key informants as well as transect walks within the settlement. The case shows that working towards just sustainability is not straight-forward. It demands efforts that navigate, with foresight rather than hindsight, the dynamics in multi-scalar contexts into which informal settlements are embedded. Social and institutional structures, processes and relationships producing and reproducing material distribution are crucial to entrenching the just sustainability praxis.

Download Full-text